


Family

by Hisa_Ai



Series: 31 Days of Christmas [14]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: 31 Days of fic, Christmas, Christmas prompts, Day 14, Family, Fluff, M/M, Nerves, Prompt Fic, Yule
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-14
Updated: 2013-12-14
Packaged: 2018-01-04 16:58:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1083444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hisa_Ai/pseuds/Hisa_Ai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Family is important to both Arthur and Merlin, so it's only natural each of them are nervous when meeting the other's family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arthur's Family

 

* * *

 

Technically speaking, Arthur had never formally introduced Merlin to his father and sister. They had been living together for  _years_ , had been dating for even longer, but since Uther and Morgana lived out of town, and none of them much enjoyed travel, they had just… never met.

Sure, there had been shared pictures and stories and the occasional phone conversation, but there had been no formal face-to-face meeting.

Until now.

Morgana had been itching to come visit Gwen, whom she'd been best friends with growing up, and Uther had decided to accompany her since she was bound to go visit Arthur while she was there and didn't Arthur have a serious live-in boyfriend that he had never met?

So it had been decided that Uther and Morgana would come in, meet Merlin, maybe have dinner, and then retire to their hotel that Uther had insisted they book because he couldn't very well be expected to sleep on their couch or anything while he was there. The day after, Uther would attend to some business in the city, Morgana would visit their friends and catch up with everyone, and then Christmas dinner would be at Arthur and Merlin's house just a couple of days afterwards.

But first, Merlin had to meet them.

Straightening the wrinkles out of his button-down, Merlin sat on the edge of their dark, worn out, faux leather couch and glanced between the front door and the clock on the wall, Arthur and the front door, the clock and Arthur. Morgana and Uther were due any moment now and Merlin could not have been more  _nervous_.

He and Arthur were stable and secure enough in their relationship that a bad first impression wouldn't be the end of the world or anything, but they were Arthur's  _family_  and Merlin wanted, more than anything, for them to  _like_  him.

"Merlin, love, relax," Arthur clucked his tongue, slid over on the couch and rested his hands on Merlin's tense shoulders. "They're going to  _love_   _you_ ," he assured him, his strong hands falling into an easy rhythm on Merlin's tense and sore muscles, his fingers trailing away to brush at his collarbone in a way meant to distract and relax him.

"And what if they don't?" Merlin whined under his touch, relaxing against all logic. If Arthur's family didn't like him, could he  _really_  stay in a relationship with him? If Hunith didn't like Arthur, could Merlin have stayed in a relationship with  _him?_

" _I'll_  still love you, so it doesn't matter, now does it?"

"But they're your family!"

"And  _you_  are the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. If they don't love you as much as I do—no one else could ever love you that much, anyway—then they'll learn to. Trust me." Arthur assured him, leaning over to kiss his neck.

Merlin sighed, relaxed against his touch even more. Maybe Arthur was right. Maybe it didn't matter so much what—

_Ding-dong_.

Merlin's tension returned then, his muscles turning rigid under Arthur's hands.

Nope, okay, he was  _wrong._  He was still very nervous and what Arthur's father and sister thought of him meant  _everything_  and nothing Arthur did or said would ever change that...

"They'll love you," Arthur repeated, yanking Merlin to his feet. " _I_ love you. You're going to do great." And then he held him close, kissed him lightly to wash away his nerves and doubts, laced their fingers together and walked to the door hand-in-hand.

Giving Merlin another reassuring smile, Arthur opened the door then, beaming when Morgana threw herself at him and engulfed him in a tight hug. He smiled and squeezed her back, spun her around and planted her back next to their father, then went on to greet his father himself, leaving Merlin standing there awkwardly until Arthur turned back to him, smiling warmly as he put his arm around his shoulders and tugged him close.

"And  _this_  is  _Mer_ lin. Merlin, this is my sister Morgana and my father Uther Pendragon."

Merlin smiled tentatively at them, stuck his hand out to shake Uther's and was met with his stern, stubborn, almost frightening gaze.

"Nice to meet you, sir."

"Yes, I would think so." Uther said in an almost  _too_  even tone.

Merlin pulled his hand back, eyes slightly wide.

Morgana smiled and rolled her eyes, threw her arms around Merlin in greeting. "Ignore him, Merlin; it's  _really_  great to finally meet you. He's just cranky from the long drive." She told him. He nodded back, told her it was great to finally meet her as well, and then Arthur properly invited them in for a cup of tea.

Settled in at the table with their tea, Uther and Morgana caught Arthur up on all he had missed and Arthur informed them of the same, with Merlin offering the odd detail that he left out or asking the stray question or two that popped up, but otherwise staying silent, observant, and nervous.

When the tea was all finished and Arthur was off in the kitchen ordering some dinner, since neither he nor Merlin felt much like cooking that night, Uther cleared his throat and turned his unnerving gaze back on Merlin.

"Merlin, was it? I hardly know anything about the boy my son's been living with for so many years now. Tell me about yourself. Where are you from, what are your parents like." And he didn't  _ask_ , Merlin noted, he just... stated what he wanted to know and expected to be informed of it. How the hell Arthur  _or_  Morgana had turned out  _half-way_  normal with a father such as Uther, Merlin hadn't a clue...

"Ahm," Merlin cleared his throat, forced himself to keep his eyes on Uther's. "Well, I'm from a small town a couple hours out called Ealdor. And I never knew my father, but my mother, Hunith, is the most amazing woman I've ever known. I have nothing but respect for her for managing on her own my whole life—and believe me when I say I did  _not_  make it easy sometimes." he chuckled, pulling a face as he glanced at a giggling Morgana.

Uther merely nodded, asking a few more miscellaneous questions before Arthur came back in to inform them that dinner would be no more than an hour at most. Uther excused himself to the bathroom then, and, once he was out of earshot, Morgana turned to Merlin with a wide grin.

"He  _loves_ you, Merlin!" she squealed, shoving his arm playfully. He looked to Arthur and his own smiling face, he was nodding enthusiastically, his arm coming up to squeeze Merlin in a sort of half-hug.

"Yeah? How can you tell?"

"Please, if he was  _this_  civil with any of my boyfriends, I'd be married by now." Morgana scoffed, eliciting light chuckles from both boys. "And, for what it's worth,  _I_  love you. You're  _perfect_  for Arthur. He seems to be really crazy about you." She assured him, looking between them with a knowing sort of look on her face.

"See? I told you they'd love you, you idiot, you didn't need to be so  _nervous._ " Arthur chuckled a moment later, leaning over and pressing a sweet kiss to Merlin's lips.

"I had  _every_  right to be, you dollophead," Merlin retorted indignantly, his goofy grin appearing without his permission and taking away from whatever effect he was going for.

"You did  _not_. There isn't a soul in this world who doesn't love you, you clotpole." Arthur told him sternly.

Merlin rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he grabbed the back of Arthur's head and pulled him forward for another lingering kiss.

Another moment later, Uther rejoined them and smiled just so at Merlin and Arthur when they pulled apart. Merlin smiled back and then they fell into a conversation about something or another until dinner arrived, Merlin's nerves melting away with finality as they ate and talked and laughed over the meal.

When they were saying goodnight to Morgana and Uther at the front door later that night, Morgana pulled Merlin close for another hug and whispered in his ear, "Welcome to the family, Merlin." He smiled back and nodded his thanks, happy to have been accepted by the other two Pendragons.

 

* * *

 


	2. Merlin's Family

 

* * *

 

Because Merlin loved his mother more than anyone else in the world, and because Arthur wanted to prove what a good, erm,  _king_  he was, he had decided that the best way to surprise Merlin for Yule, one of the few times of the year when he missed his mother the most, was to send his most trusted knights off to fetch her from Ealdor. So while Arthur kept Merlin otherwise distracted in his chambers one morning, Gwaine, Lancelot, and Leon were to ride out and return as soon as possible with her.

As the first day they were gone wore on and Merlin wondered where his friends were—Arthur had fed him some patrol story that seemed to placate him for short moments at a time—Arthur grew… Nervous. He had met Merlin's mother before—multiple times, in fact—but each time had been when he and Merlin were nothing more than friends…

Now, though, now they were  _so much_   _more_  than that.

And Arthur couldn't help but wonder if his mother would approve of him.

Any mother would be glad to have their daughter married off to, or at least courted by, a king, of all people, but Merlin's mother wasn't  _any mother_  and Merlin was her son, not daughter, so Arthur felt as though the odds were stacked against his favor. Hell, members of his own court has advised against whatever him and  _Merlin_ were, which they would not exactly  _label_  just yet, so what would his own  _mother_  think of their situation?

Merlin noticed his change in disposition through-out the day and most of the next one, noticed he grew more on edge and jumpy, his face lined with worry as the sun crept across the sky, beckoning the night forward. He tried to deny it, but Merlin knew him far too well for that and almost didn't let it go…

Until there was a knock on the door as they took an early dinner and Arthur called for whoever it was to enter. His heart almost leapt out of his chest when Gwaine, Lancelot, and Leon entered first, all beaming with their shared secret.

Merlin twisted around in his chair, greeted his friends with the same old smile of his, and asked where they had been for the past couple of days as he toyed around with the fruit on his plate.

"Had to run a little errand for the king here," Gwaine grinned, throwing a wink to Arthur.

"Oh? What kind of errand?" Merlin inquired, turning to Arthur for half a second before giving the knights his attention once more.

"Something for  _you_ ," Lancelot told him.

" _Me?_ But I didn't ask him for—"

"No, it's nothing you asked for," Leon interrupted. "Just something… Arthur thought you needed, especially this time of year."

"What—"

Arthur gave Gwaine a look then, nodded towards the door. Best to get it over with. They could go on all night like they were, all of them cheeky and offering nothing in response to Merlin's albeit adorable confusion and questions. It would do little for Arthur's nerves, after all, so it was better not to go that route.

Gwaine walked to the door, opened it, and ushered someone, Hunith, in. She beamed when she saw Merlin, the look of a mother being reunited with her child after far too long apart.

"Mother!" Merlin grinned, pushing from the table to greet her. He engulfed her in the sort of hug he rarely offered anyone aside from Arthur, and even then, it was still rare. It was the sort that always made Arthur feel loved and safe, and he wondered, as he watched Merlin and his mother reunite, if it was inherited from Hunith herself.

"Arthur, you idiot," Merlin grinned when he offered his mother a seat at the table and quickly served her a plate of food a few moments later. "You didn't have to do this," he shook his head, still beaming. "None of you did," he looked back to the knights who all brushed him off.  _Of course_  they had to do it, Arthur had asked them to. And even if he hadn't, Merlin was still their friend, they wanted him to be happy. After everything he had ever done for them, it was certainly the least they could do.

Gwaine, Leon, and Lancelot all left then to go get cleaned up and grab some dinner of their own, leaving the three to dine in a chattering mess of catching up and reminiscing. Arthur mostly sat and ate, observing Merlin and his mother as he doted on her and she did the same, reminding him to mind his manners and asking if he had managed to find any more trouble.

"I'm dining privately with the king of Camelot, mother, don't you think trouble is sort of implied there?" he grinned, tossing Arthur a look that had him laughing and shaking his head, wondering if such talk was really appropriate in front of his  _mother,_  of all people. Hunith didn't seem to mind, as she just laughed along with them, so he figured it was okay.

The rest of the meal passed much too quickly, and the next thing Arthur and his still nervous stomach knew, Merlin was going on and on, wondering where his mother might stay while she was there and why Arthur hadn't given him a fair warning so he could prepare something for her. He silenced him with a rise of his hand, told him that everything had been taken care of and that he had had a servant make up a room for her already and if Merlin would like to show her to it, it was just around the corner. Merlin grinned his thanks and turned to his mother, asked her if she was ready to turn in for the night.

"If you don't mind, Merlin, I'd just like a moment alone with Arthur here," she said in response. Merlin gave them both a look but shrugged and promised to wait just outside the door for her, making his exit much too quickly for Arthur to think of any reason why Hunith would want a word with him. Had he done something wrong, something to offend her? Was it not his place to surprise her and Merlin with such a trip?

"Don't look so nervous, Arthur," Hunith told him, calming him slightly. Merlin's mother seemed to have that effect on people, it was probably where Merlin got it from. "I just wanted to thank you, for taking such good care of my son," she told him. He nodded, felt himself relax at her words. And here he thought she was going to rip his head off or something…

"It's really  _him_  taking care of  _me_ , but thank you," he told her.

"As good as he is for you, you are just as good for him. You give him…  _purpose_. Before he came to Camelot, he was so lost, and always an outsider. But then he came here," she looked at him, her eyes full of light and happiness mixed with a bit of melancholy. She missed her son, he knew that, maybe more than Merlin missed her, but she really did seem happy that Merlin was in Camelot and not Ealdor. "And his life… it's completely different now. He seems to be more accepted here, he has more friends, he has  _you_ , and I know he cares a great deal for you, Arthur Pendragon." She told him.

Arthur just nodded in response, left quite speechless as she hugged him and gave him a pat on the arm before she turned to go to her chambers for the night.

"You… you don't mind, then?" He asked tentatively just when she reached the door. It was now or never, he figured. Either he asked her how she felt about him and Merlin  _now_ , or he probably  _never_  would. "About me and Merlin, I mean?" he finished when she stopped to listen to him.

She turned to look at him over his shoulder. "Of course not. You make him  _happy_ , and that's all any mother ever wants for her child." She told him softly.

Then she pulled the door open and walked out, met with a patiently waiting Merlin on the other side of it.

Left in silence as the door swung shut again, Arthur felt at peace. Merlin's mother approved— _of course she did._  Why would he ever think anything different? Merlin demanded of him later that night as he pressed kiss after loving kiss to his lips, his neck, the top of his chest—and that was all Arthur really wanted out of her visit.

_That_ , and to see Merlin smile that wide, loving smile of his he always had on his face whenever he saw her after so long apart.

But that was just an added bonus compared to the wonderful feeling that  _was_  Hunith's approval.

 

* * *

 

 

 


End file.
